Chapter 128 - 127: The Artwork of a Celestial Level Martial Artist

"Second on the Human List, Wang Tian!"

"He’s here for the auction too?"

Students from the various Wu Mansions, including Golden Students and geniuses from the Human List, all turned to look.

He was a man in a black robe with a mole between his eyebrows. A chilling, terrifyingly domineering aura radiated from him, making several nearby Spirit Sea Realm cultivators afraid to approach.

"Wang Tian?"

Luo Tian had heard his name. Among his peers, his strength was so overwhelming as to be nearly invincible.

His battle record on the Human List included defeating a veteran Spirit Sea Realm cultivator in three moves, single-handedly wiping out the Black Cloud Thieves, and killing three of their Spirit Sea Realm leaders...

Wang Tian hailed from a small Martial Arts family, and his aptitude wasn’t considered particularly outstanding.

But as a child, he fell from a cliff and had a great fortuitous encounter. Afterward, he soared to prominence, unstoppable, fighting his way to second on the Human List.

Now, Wang Tian was a Qiankun Student of the Martial Kun Holy Mansion, overshadowing countless geniuses of his generation in the Azure Cloud Kingdom.

Aside from Wang Tian, many top-ranking geniuses from the Human List had arrived at the auction. Senior Jin of the Sun Chasing Holy Mansion was also among the top ten.

This included the Third Prince, Li Yi, and the Seventh Prince, Li Yao, who were also ranked high on the Human List.

"Greetings, Aunt."

Seeing the Eldest Princess, the several Princes politely came over to pay their respects.

Among them, the Seventh Prince, Li Yao, shot Luo Tian a cold glance, though it held a trace of apprehension.

"This must be Young Master Luo Tian?"

The Third Prince, Li Yi, who had fair features and a refined temperament, gave Luo Tian a friendly smile.

"I’ve heard much about you, Third Prince."

Luo Tian replied politely.

Even without his status as a Prince, Li Yi himself was a top-five genius on the Human List, his strength far surpassing that of an ordinary prodigy.

「An hour later.」

The several hundred seats in the auction hall were nearly full.

"Esteemed guests!"

A powerful, aged voice echoed throughout the hall.

A purple-robed elder with white hair but a youthful face appeared on the auction stage.

"The auction held by the Ziwei Commerce Association will now begin!"

The purple-robed elder was a Spirit Sea Realm expert, and his aura was as deep and boundless as that of a Holy Mansion Elder.

The auction hall instantly fell silent.

"The first item up for auction is three stalks of Blood Lotus Root. They can greatly nourish one’s blood essence and increase the chance of breaking through to the Meridian Opening Realm by over fifty percent. The starting price is fifty Spiritual Essence Coins per stalk, with a minimum bid increment of five Spirit Essence Coins," the purple-robed elder announced.

"It’s the Blood Lotus Root! A rare sight even once a century!"

"With this, my grandson can become a Martial Artist half a year sooner."

The item’s appearance immediately caused a stir.

"Fifty-five!"

"Sixty!"

Representatives from numerous factions joined the bidding.

Although the first item’s price wasn’t high, it was in extremely short supply.

’Increases the chance of breaking through to the Meridian Opening Realm by fifty percent?’

Luo Tian was a bit surprised.

’If he’d had this precious material back then, he might not have wasted three years.’

In no time, all three stalks of Blood Lotus Root had been sold. The price had risen to several dozen coins per stalk, and they were all bought by major powers.

The first few items were just appetizers and not particularly high-grade.

Neither the Eldest Princess nor Luo Tian placed any bids.

"Next up for auction is a famous painting."

The purple-robed elder gave a mysterious smile.

Two female attendants came forward and carefully unrolled a scroll.

"This painting was left behind by the Celestial Level Martial Artist from three hundred years ago, the ’Carefree Sword Monarch.’ It may contain the True Sword Dao Intent of a Celestial Level Martial Artist."

A Celestial Level Powerhouse!

The entire auction hall erupted in a shocked uproar.

According to the classification of Martial Artists:

The Meridian Opening Realm was the first step to becoming a Martial Artist.

Those in the Spirit Sea Realm were known as Spirit Level Martial Artists.

Those in the Earth Element Realm were known as Earth Level Martial Artists.

And those in the Celestial Pool Realm were known as Celestial Level Martial Artists.

...

However, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the world of the Dongchen Continent was growing thinner by the day.

Due to this change in the world’s fundamental structure, opening High Grade Martial Veins had become much more difficult.

Consequently, high-level Martial Artists were becoming rarer.

In the last few hundred years, Celestial Level masters had vanished, becoming the stuff of legends.

That was precisely why the appearance of a painting by a Celestial Level Martial Artist could cause such a sensation.

Luo Tian and the Eldest Princess were also intrigued.

Upon reaching the level of a Celestial Level Martial Artist, one could command the power of nature with a mere gesture. It was possible their paintings could be imbued with some form of the True Essence of Martial Arts.

"Of course, we at the Ziwei Commerce Association cannot guarantee that the painting contains any profound secrets or True Intent. We can only confirm that it came from the former residence of the ’Carefree Sword Monarch’ and, after being appraised by several masters, is believed to be his own work," the purple-robed elder added.

Hearing this, the crowd’s enthusiasm cooled somewhat.

The Carefree Sword Monarch’s paintings could be from many different periods of his life.

It could have been painted after he reached the Celestial Pool Realm, but it could also have been from his time in the Spirit Sea Realm, or even the Meridian Opening Realm.

It was even more likely just a casual doodle.

BUZZ!

A massive screen, powered by an array, lit up in the auction hall, projecting the details of the scroll.

It was a landscape painting. Aside from the mountains and rivers, there were a few hazy figures, giving it an ethereal and unrestrained feel, but no particular secrets were apparent.

"Masters, what are your thoughts?"

The Eldest Princess’s eyes flickered as she looked toward Luo Tian, Master Deng, and Master Mi.

"I know nothing of calligraphy or painting," Master Mi said, shaking his head. He specialized in the art of medicine.

Master Deng, a Treasure Master, stroked his beard and smiled. "Even if this painting doesn’t contain the True Intent of a Celestial Level Martial Artist, based on its collection value alone, it’s worth buying as long as the price doesn’t exceed one thousand Spiritual Essence Coins."

"After all, Celestial Level Martial Artists are only going to become rarer."

Master Deng finished with a laugh.

"That makes sense."

The Eldest Princess nodded in agreement.

"Master Luo, what is your assessment?"

She asked, looking politely at Luo Tian.

’This kid?’

Master Deng scoffed inwardly.

’How could a wet-behind-the-ears brat possibly have the knowledge and experience to appraise a painting by a Celestial Level Martial Artist?’

"Anything under three thousand Spiritual Essence Coins would be a good price."

Luo Tian said nonchalantly after glancing at the landscape painting.

Three thousand Spiritual Essence Coins?

The Eldest Princess and the two masters were all rather shocked.

"What a joke!"

Master Deng shook his head and chuckled. "If a Celestial Level Martial Artist had imbued it with True Intent, the painting would emit a Celestial Level pressure. If it was just a casual piece, after several hundred years, the most one could hope to comprehend from its residual intent would be a few Spirit Level Martial Skill techniques."

His reasoning was sound.

The Eldest Princess and Master Mi couldn’t help but nod.

If one could only glean a few Spirit Level Martial Skill techniques from it, then its price would be one or two hundred Spiritual Essence Coins at most, which wouldn’t even cover its value as a collector’s item.

"I’m just stating my personal opinion," Luo Tian said, unconcerned.

"The starting bid is eight hundred Spiritual Essence Coins, each increment not to exceed fifty," the purple-robed elder said.

"I bid nine hundred!"

"Nine hundred fifty!"

"One thousand!"

Once the bidding for the painting passed one thousand, the offers began to slow.

Clearly, many people understood that anything over one thousand was too high a price.

"Twelve hundred."

The Eldest Princess made a bid.

The floor went quiet for a moment.

"Thirteen hundred."

A one-eyed old man called out a higher price, a terrifying pressure indicating the Half-step Earth Element Realm radiating from his body.

"So it’s the ’Poison Dragon Mansion Master’ from the Martial Kun Holy Mansion."

The Eldest Princess smiled.

Twelve hundred was already her limit.

Furthermore, with his strength at the Half-step Earth Element Realm, even the Royal Family had to show him respect.

"Thirteen hundred fifty."

Vice Manor Master Yue added fifty, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

The Martial Kun Holy Mansion was ranked second in the Azure Cloud Kingdom and was the oldest Wu Mansion, having existed even before the kingdom’s founding.

The Sun Chasing Holy Mansion had always been one step behind the Martial Kun Holy Mansion.

Vice Manor Master Yue’s bid of fifty was meant to annoy the Poison Dragon Mansion Master.

"Hmph! Fifteen hundred!"

The Poison Dragon Mansion Master gave Vice Manor Master Yue a cold glance.

"It’s all yours."

Vice Manor Master Yue chuckled, not daring to directly confront the Half-step Earth Element Realm expert.

In the end, the painting was sold to the Poison Dragon Mansion Master for fifteen hundred Spiritual Essence Coins.

Master Deng and the others couldn’t help but shake their heads, thinking the Poison Dragon Mansion Master had made a bad deal.

"Bring it here!"

The one-eyed Mansion Master paid the Spiritual Essence Coins on the spot and made a grasping motion through the air.

WHOOSH!

The scroll floated into the Poison Dragon Mansion Master’s hand.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he tapped a single finger against the scroll’s wooden roller.

With a "DING,"

the wooden roller made a clear, pleasant sound as it detached from the scroll.

"Haha..."

The Poison Dragon Mansion Master laughed heartily and infused his True Qi into the wooden roller.

WHOOSH! BUZZ!

The seemingly ordinary wooden roller began to crackle, faint purple bolts of electricity arcing across its surface, releasing an astonishing pressure.

"This is actually thousand-year-old ’Thundering Wood’!"

Vice Manor Master Yue was stunned.

Thundering Wood was a Thunder Attribute treasure material, valuable enough to be used in refining Upper Grade Treasure Artifacts.

Hm?

The elder hosting the auction was stunned for a moment before forcing a bitter smile. "Congratulations, Wu Kun Mansion Master."

"Thundering Wood?"

The Eldest Princess and Master Mi looked on in surprise.

Luo Tian’s expression remained calm; he wasn’t surprised at all.

Master Deng’s face was a mask of embarrassment.

Just moments ago, he had valued the painting at one thousand at most.

"Master Luo, when you said it was worth getting for under three thousand Spiritual Essence Coins, did you already know the roller’s material?"

The Eldest Princess asked, looking at Luo Tian with a hint of regret.

"I just noticed a few clues," Luo Tian said with a smile.

"Hmph! If it’s really Thundering Wood, it’s worth far more than three thousand Spiritual Essence Coins."

Master Deng figured Luo Tian had just gotten lucky.

"No! It’s worth three thousand at most," Luo Tian said confidently.

"Because once Thundering Wood is separated from its parent tree, it becomes rootless. Without special preservation methods, after several hundred years, most of its Thunder Power and spiritual essence would have dissipated, greatly reducing its value."

After hearing this analysis, Master Deng stammered, "This..." His face flushed bright red, and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

In his haste, he had completely forgotten about the issue of preserving Thundering Wood.

The Eldest Princess and Master Mi were greatly surprised.

They hadn’t expected Luo Tian to possess such profound knowledge in treasure appraisal, even surpassing Master Deng.

After the surprise of the Thundering Wood, the auction grew even more heated, with all the factions competing fiercely for the items.

The Eldest Princess bid occasionally and won a single item.

Luo Tian, however, hadn’t bid on anything yet.

"Everyone, please take a look."

The purple-robed elder said with a wave of his hand.

"This next item is a Yin Crystal Stone from deep within the earth. It is a condensation of Earth Vein Yin Qi and is of immense benefit to the cultivation of certain Yin Cold Techniques."

A female attendant presented a tray, upon which sat a dark, bluish Crystal Stone.

’A Yin Crystal Stone?’

The moment the item appeared, the Nether Dragon Divine Vein inside Luo Tian’s body inexplicably began to tremble, stirring with a faint eagerness.

’Could this item be beneficial to my Divine Vein?’

Luo Tian’s heart leaped with joy.

He immediately consulted the Celestial Book, and the answer was yes.

"The Yin Crystal Stone is difficult to excavate and extremely rare. The bidding will start at six hundred Spiritual Essence Coins, with a minimum increment of fifty," the purple-robed elder announced.

"Six hundred fifty."

"I bid seven hundred!"

A few sporadic bids echoed through the auction hall, but there weren’t many participants.

When the price reached eight hundred, the bidders began to hesitate.

"Nine hundred!"

Luo Tian placed his first bid.